Nightmare
by Glenn and Katina Rentholen
Summary: Kagome gave Inu-Yasha the JEwel.. And regrets it to this day. But is that the truth? Or simply a nightmare that could be...


No more Tears  
  
Katina Ashton  
  
wildflowerkitten@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-yasha and co. If I did, I wouldn't be busting my ass to be published on my other book.   
  
The rain came own hard on her bare skin, and Kagome cursed herself for walking off that morning without an umbrella. Not that she'd never walked in the rain without an umbrella before. There had been plenty of times in the feudal era that the whole gang had been caught out in the rain.   
  
But now, the cities toxic fumes rained down on her. Funny, how in all the years before she'd met Inu-Yasha and the gang she'd never noticed how different and poisonous the air smelled here in the 21st century. She sighed.  
  
She might as well get used to it. She wasn't going back down that well ever again. The Jewel was complete. Even though she knew the consequences of doing so, she'd given Inu-Yasha the completed Shikkon no Tama. And then, without another word, without thought of her feelings or what his might have been...  
  
Kagome had leapt down the well, never looking back. She'd outlived her usefulness to him as a shard detector. That was all she had been... Right?  
  
That had been nearly two months ago. She still couldn't stop herself from thinking about her friends. Her love.   
  
The rain hid her tears. She cried everyday that she thought of him.   
  
Everyday.  
  
Getting to the shrine, she let herself into the house, and removed her shoes. Her face was wet. The rain was getting to her. Wordlessly, she forced herself up the stairs to her bedroom.   
  
The room was alien to her. Boxed were piled against one wall of her room, and her bed was made with clean linens. Her blanket was folded up at the foot of it. Her desk was bare except...  
  
Inu-Yasha stared at her from the other side of the glass picture frame. He wasn't smiling, but not frowning either. She'd caught him by surprise with the flashing camera she'd taken there one afternoon.   
  
There was an expression in his eyes that had once told her that he felt something.   
  
But now..  
  
She smacked the frame face down, and looked around her bare room. Her walls were bare, with dark spots where her bookcase had been, and the posters she'd once had hanging up on the walls.   
  
She'd finally gotten accepted into a University. She'd be living in an apartment of her own in the middle of the city.  
  
'And he'll never know.' She thought.  
  
The tears burned her eyes again. She brushed at her face, refusing to cry yet again.   
  
The rain pattered against her window. Somewhere, lightning flashed. The city lights reflected off the clouds, making a strangely lovely light from the clouds.   
  
Kagome sighed softly, and sat down on her bed.   
  
She looked down at the mats that made up her floor, and her eyes narrowed a set of four brown marks on her floor. She'd thought those had faded ages ago.   
  
Without even realizing it, Kagome leaned over on her bed, doubling her knees into her chest, as she reached down to the marks.   
  
Two feet, two hands...  
  
He'd come once...  
  
But that was years ago. Back when the whole thing had first started.  
  
She jerked her hand back, and stared at it as though it were dangerous. Touching those prints would waken more memories she was trying to forget!   
  
"Get yourself together Kagome." She said aloud, " He's not coming to drag you back this time. You're starting college in a week. You can't just keep thinking about him. It'll distract you!" she stood up, and opened her bedroom closet. She pulled out two more suitcases, and threw them on her bed. She began to fold clothes, and throw them in the bags.   
  
'Kouga wouldn't have let you run away like that.' Her inner voice told her, ' he loved you. And so did Shippo.'   
  
"shut up." Kagome whispered into the closet as she folded her ancient school uniform over her arm.  
  
'You could have at least told Miroku and Sango goodbye, you know.'  
  
Kagome ignored her inner voice.   
  
'Kaede loved you like her own daughter.'  
  
She clenched her hands, and threw the uniform across the room, the green material falling to the floor in a graceful heap.   
  
'You betrayed them...'  
  
Forget throwing that uniform. She was going to take care of these memories once and for all. Kagome, in a flash of rage, her tears falling madly now, grabbed her scissors from her desk, from where they sat next to the packing tape she'd been using.  
  
'Because you were a selfish..'  
  
The scissors pierced the fabric with a satisfying tear.  
  
'Little.'  
  
Snip, snip, snip. Forget them. Forget Shippo, and Kouga...  
  
'Brat.'  
  
Forget Kaede, and Myoga...  
  
'You'll die knowing that they never got to even say goodbye to you.'  
  
Forget Miroku and Sango and Kirara...  
  
'Because you couldn't bear to tell him how much you loved him.'  
  
And him. Forget all about him. Forget about Inu-Yasha.  
  
The scissors worked their way round and round the uniform skirt. And then it got caught on one of the seams, she yanked it, throwing the scissors to one side, and taking the fabric with her own hands.   
  
She ripped it as fast as she could. The tears that she'd been trying to stop every time the came, poured down her face, leaving trails, and rivers of the salty moisture.  
  
'you're never going to have him back.'  
  
Kagome screamed, and fell to the floor in a heap, sobbing and shuddering. She curled up in a little ball, clutching the mutilated uniform in her hands.   
  
And it was there that she fell asleep. To the mercy of her dreams she left herself...  
  
There was a familiar smell around her. Something. Warm.   
  
She shifted in her half asleep state, and sniffed the air again. The mat under her smelled of leftover tears. Moisture from the rain. And.  
  
'Him.'  
  
She sat bolt upright, and looked around. There was no sign of Inu-Yasha. The smell she'd thought was him was her uniform. She stared at it in horror, and shoved it away from herself.   
  
"Kagome! We're home!" her mothers voice came up the stairs, " come and help us with the groceries!"  
  
"I'll be down in a moment, Momma!" Kagome called back, and forced herself up. She was still wearing her now damp jeans and sweatshirt.   
  
Changing quickly, Kagome hurried downstairs to help her mother, brother and grandfather with the groceries that they were bringing in.   
  
"we wouldn't have taken so long, but the guy at the checkout counter was new, and kind of slow." Souta made a face, " He had a real hard time trying to give us back our change." He put a can of instant soup in the cabinet, and looked at Kagome, " You look bad Kagome. You ok?"  
  
"Thanks a lot." Kagome replied dryly, " That was just what I wanted to hear today."  
  
Souta looked sheepish for a moment, " oh.. Sorry sis."  
  
"whatever." Kagome tossed the bread on the counter, and unloaded another paper bag. She pulled out from instant ramen, and dropped it as though it had burned her.  
  
Souta looked at her, and made a face. He knew what was wrong, and said nothing as he picked up the package and put it away for her. "Kagome.."  
  
"I'm just tired." She stormed off.  
  
"But.." Souta started.  
  
Kagome was gone before he could finish.  
  
  
  
  
  
Inu-Yasha looked at the well, and then at Jewel in his hand. It seemed like it was only yesterday she had gone down there. He'd waited every day for her to come back, but somehow had known that she wasn't going to be able to without the jewel.  
  
He clutched the jewel, and looked behind him.  
  
He could smell the others nearby. They were watching him no doubt.  
  
But now he was tired of waiting.   
  
Down the well he went.   
  
Miroku looked at Sango. " He hasn't used it yet."  
  
Sango smiled, " I know."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Kagome was in her bedroom, sitting in the middle of the floor. In front of her was a photo album. She was inserting pictures of her friends from high school in it. There was a pink shoebox next to her.   
  
It was still raining out. She sighed, and laid down on her stomach. This was the perfect way to forget all about..  
  
'You were thinking about him again.'  
  
Kagome put her head on the floor, and sighed.  
  
"My life sucks." She muttered against the mat.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A knock on the door surprised Mrs. Higurashi. She picked up a dishtowel, and dried her hands as she went to the front door. Upon opening the door, however, she dropped the towel.  
  
Her eyes narrowed.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Kagome! Honey, there's a gentleman here to see you!"  
  
Kagome frowned against the mat at her mothers call. It was eight at night. Who would be coming to see her at this hour. Certainly not Hojo.. She'd watched him leave for an overseas University the week before.  
  
"Who is it!" she called down, " I'm kind of busy!"  
  
There was no reply. Kagome assumed that her mother had sent whoever it was on home. She shut her bedroom door, and flopped back down on the floor with a small sigh. She continued to put photos in her book.  
  
After a few moments, she laid her head back down on the floor, unable to keep her mind off the photographs in the frame on her desk.   
  
".. should just tear the fucker up.." she muttered in a fairly un kagome like show of bitterness.  
  
The sound of her door opening didn't make her raise her head any, " Souta, do you know who was at the door?" she asked softly, " Mom said it was some gentleman.."  
  
"I don't know if I could be considered a gentleman or not, but I know for certain I aint Souta."   
  
The voice.  
  
'You're dreaming! You have to be!' Kagome lifted her head just enough to see bare feet on the mats of her bedroom floor.  
  
Inu-Yasha looked down at Kagome, laying on the floor. Thee were shred of fabric on the floor. Pictures scattered around her. Her hair was mussed and down around her shoulders.  
  
He'd forgotten how beautiful she was.  
  
"What are you doing here?" her voice was weak, " why aren't you with.. " She couldn't say the other name.   
  
Inu-Yasha felt something inside of him stab and twist a bit. He fell to his knees next to her on the mat, and looked down at her, " I came to take you back with me." He said in the tone he used to use when she'd run off for a day or so.  
  
"What for. You have the jewel." Kagome's voice remained expressionless, though her eyes would have told a different story, " Or did you lose it."  
  
"Kagome.. I.." Inu-Yasha stumbled over the words in his mouth, and fumbled for the right ones, " Kagome, I've been.."  
  
Kagome didn't move as she spoke slowly and clearly, " With Kikyo?"  
  
Ok, somehow the pain of her being gone just suddenly increased by about twenty fold. Inu-Yasha felt himself biting down n his lip, but didn't stop himself from doing such, " Kagome.. please, listen to me."  
  
"Do you want to hurt me more?" Kagome suddenly demanded. She sat straight up, and looked at him for the first time in two months. Her eyes were cold and hard. Her mouth was in a tight thin line.   
  
Inu-Yasha stared, " hurt you?"  
  
Kagome glared back. And then she could hold her anger no more, and began to cry, " You didn't even try!" she sobbed, " You didn't even try to stop me from going!" he lashed out with her hands, one of them taking hold of the Hanyou's red GI, and the other was slapping him as hard as she could. " I hate you!" she screamed, " I hate you for talking down at me all the time, I hate you for treating me like a damn shard detector, and most of all..." she put both her hands on his GI.  
  
He stared at her, feeling the bomb coming, " I hate you for making me love you." She shoved him away from her, and fell back to her butt again. She was shaking violently, and crying now like she hadn't cried in years.  
  
Inu-Yasha stared. He leaned forward a bit, balancing on the balls of his feet, and took Kagome gently by the shoulders. "Kagome.."  
  
She looked up at him.  
  
He leaned over, putting his forehead to hers. His hair was wet. It hung down around his shoulders like wets silk. His eyes were closed for a moment.  
  
Kagome could smell him.. Him, everywhere. She sobbed again, " don't break my heart again.." she whispered.  
  
And he kissed her.  
  
Kagome woke up with a jolt. There was something wrong.. The room was fuzzy. Her heart was pounding.   
  
She sat up in bed, and brushed her hair back from her face. She reached up instinctively for the completed Shikkon no Tama at her neck, and touched it with gentle hands.   
  
She'd give it to him today.   
  
She took a deep breath. What a nightmare she'd had.  
  
She'd give it to him. But she felt as though if she did as she had been planning.. She'd end up like the girl in her dreams.  
  
Kagome would give him the Shikkon no Tama.  
  
And perhaps her heart as well.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Authors note: a short bit of weird-o that came to me while I was working on my novel. I should be working on my novel, no making IY Stuff. MY editors gonna kill me... ~Kat 


End file.
